December 2nd, #GivingTuesday, is a global day to celebrate giving back. At Conover + Gould, we have so much to be thankful for, and we try to reflect on that often. But we love the idea of having a day dedicated to giving back to those who have less. This holiday season, the Conover + Gould team will be making donations to eleven nonprofits that we admire, and we will each blog about our chosen organization. Minna and Heather are making donations to the American University of Nigeria Foundation (AUNF).

AUNF supports the work of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) and furthers education of disadvantaged children in northeastern Nigeria by raising funds to provide them full scholarships. Our donation will go towards AUNF’s #EducateOurGirls campaign which provides scholarship funds for the 21 Chibok girls at AUN.

The world was outraged and vented some of its anger and frustration through#BringBackOurGirls after close to 300 girls were kidnapped from their boarding school in Chibok by Boko Haram last spring. 58 girls jumped from trucks, ran for their lives and escaped their captors, and 21 of those brave young women are now studying at AUN. They were admitted this fall to specialized remedial education programs on full scholarships so that they can adjust both academically and personally and successfully complete the exams that they were taking when they were kidnapped.

We have both been touched by these girls and their stories. The amount of courage, determination and strength they have displayed is just incredible. We know we have been incredibly fortunate in our lives and have taken our educations for granted in so many ways. We are inspired and humbled by the 21 girls from Chibok. Girls like these will change the world.

If you would like to donate to this cause, we recommend doing so today on #GivingTuesdaywhen the Foundation’s online donation transaction fees will be waived. Click here to donate.